Beacon Hill to vote on Hands free driving bill

 If you think this is a good or bad idea.. send a note to Maris Robinson and let her know. Personally I think it's way over due. The numbers tell the tail, to many drivers and others have been killed by distracted driving.  maria.robinson@mahouse.gov


The Massachusetts House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill that would ban using handheld cellphones while driving, a significant step toward making Massachusetts a "hands-free" state. The bill would also see traffic tickets have a space for officers to note the race of the person being cited or warned as a potential safeguard against what skeptics of the legislation fear could be racial profiling.
The bill, H.3149, represents a years-long effort to keep drivers from using their cellphones with their hands while driving. Lawmakers were discussing it as of 11 a.m.; a vote was scheduled at 1 p.m. Patch will update this story when the vote is in.
The bill states drivers could only use phones with their hands "to activate, deactivate, or initiate a feature or function." Phones could not be used for social media or video calls when behind the wheel. The exception for using your hands to make a call would be in an emergency, such as calling 911. Drivers could still use a phone's GPS as long as it didn't impede driving.